Mangaka Masashi Kishimoto of the immensely popular Naruto manga series is one of 41 other manga creators who will each redesign an iconic cover from Akira Toriyama's seminal Dragon Ball series in commemoration of its 40th anniversary in 2024.
Originally published from 1984 to 1995, the 519 chapters of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball series follow the exploits of a young boy named Goku as he pursues martial arts to become the world's strongest fighter. Since then, the story has spawned numerous spin-off series, including Dragon Ball Z, which greatly expanded upon the series to whole new levels , introducing time travel and the ubiquitous Super Saiyan transformation (along with its many forms). Goku's tale was relaunched again after years of inaction with Dragon Ball Super, where Toriyama continues his tradition of greatly expanding upon the world in which his characters live by throwing numerous universes into the mix (and adding even more transformations). The influence of Toriyama's work continues to this day and is often credited as popularizing manga and anime in the United States.
Now, as part of the three-year Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project, Kishimoto's contribution will be the redesign of the 11th volume of Dragon Ball. The first unannounced cover in the series will be featured in the Saikyo Jump September issue out on August 4th, and will continue on a monthly basis until the official anniversary of Dragon Ball in November 2024.
Masashi Kishimoto has redesigned the cover of Dragon Ball's eleventh volume, which takes place three years after Goku summons Shenron for the first time and continues coverage of the Tenka'ichi Budōkai tournament that began in the previous volume. It's best known for Goku's defeat of Krillin and for longtime Dragon Ball characters Tenshinhan and Chaozu renouncing the evil ways of their former master the Crane Hermit.
With Akira Toriyama's influence on pop culture, it's appropriate that mangaka Masashi Kishimoto of Naruto was chosen to contribute to the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project. His 700-chapter series is also considered by some to be a cultural phenomenon that greatly impacted manga and anime throughout its published run from 1999 to 2014. Kishimoto continues to make his mark as well with his ongoing spin-off series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
Although rumors abound as to who else will participate in the Dragon Ball Super Gallery Project, the effort will undoubtedly attract other big names in the industry similar to Masashi Kishimoto such as Eiichiro Oda of One Piece, Hiromu Arakawa of Full Metal Alchemist, and Hajime Isayama of Attack on Titan. Regardless, this is an incredible way to honor Akira Toriyama's work that has undoubtedly impacted and continues to affect so many lives. It just begs the question as to what lies in store upon the 50th anniversary of Dragon Ball.